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01-05-2007, 07:25 AM
Man guilty of killing 'Speed King' Mickey Thompson
LOS ANGELES, Jan 4 (Reuters) - More than 18 years after car racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife were shot to death outside their Los Angeles area home, a former business partner was convicted on Thursday of their murders.
Michael Goodwin, who had long been suspected of orchestrating the March, 1988 killings of Mickey and Trudy Thompson over a business dispute, was found guilty of two counts of murder after a six-week trial.
Goodwin, 61, now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"It was Goodwin the whole time," Thompson's son, Danny, said after the verdict. "I always thought that. I think that now. And obviously the jury thought that and I thank them."
Mickey Thompson was the first American to travel over 400 miles per hour (644 kph) on land and held some 500 land speed records before turning to race promotion.
He was also credited with bringing off-road racing to stadium events.
Goodwin lost a bitter, two-year court battle to Thompson, 59, just two weeks before the "Speed King" and his 41-year-old wife were shot execution style in the driveway of their home by two young black men who sped away on bicycles.
Prosecutors say Goodwin ordered the hit. The two gunmen have never been found.
LOS ANGELES, Jan 4 (Reuters) - More than 18 years after car racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife were shot to death outside their Los Angeles area home, a former business partner was convicted on Thursday of their murders.
Michael Goodwin, who had long been suspected of orchestrating the March, 1988 killings of Mickey and Trudy Thompson over a business dispute, was found guilty of two counts of murder after a six-week trial.
Goodwin, 61, now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"It was Goodwin the whole time," Thompson's son, Danny, said after the verdict. "I always thought that. I think that now. And obviously the jury thought that and I thank them."
Mickey Thompson was the first American to travel over 400 miles per hour (644 kph) on land and held some 500 land speed records before turning to race promotion.
He was also credited with bringing off-road racing to stadium events.
Goodwin lost a bitter, two-year court battle to Thompson, 59, just two weeks before the "Speed King" and his 41-year-old wife were shot execution style in the driveway of their home by two young black men who sped away on bicycles.
Prosecutors say Goodwin ordered the hit. The two gunmen have never been found.